Online bi-directional color calibration

ABSTRACT

A color printing system and method for reducing bidirectional hue shift in ink-jet printing. A set of data channels for the ink colors of the system is generated, including at least one print-direction-independent data channel, and at least one pair of print-direction-dependent data channels. A print controller receives the set of data channels for printing, and selects the print-direction-independent data channels, and one of each pair of print-direction-dependent data channels, to provide the data for printing in each pposite scanning direction of the print engine.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

[0001] The present invention relates generally to inkjet printing, andpertains more particularly to providing high image quality inbidirectional printing.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0002] Hardcopy output devices, such as printers and fax machines,frequently use ink-jet technology to form text and images on print mediasuch as paper, transparencies, and textiles. Hardcopy devices of thissort are described by W. J. Lloyd and H. T. Taub in “Ink Jet Devices,”Chapter 13 of Output Hardcopy Devices (Ed. R. C. Durbeck and S. Sherr,San Diego: Academic Press, 1988). A printhead in these output devices isconnected to an ink supply and contains an arrangement of nozzles and acontrol mechanism which allows ink drops from the ink supply to becontrollably ejected from each individual nozzle onto the media. Colorinkjet printing devices frequently contain several printheads, typicallyfour to six. The printheads generally are mounted side-by-side in acarriage which scans them back and forth within the printer in a forwardand a rearward direction above the media during printing such that theindividual printheads move sequentially over a given location on themedium. As the printhead is moved relative to the print medium, acontroller selectively activates individual printing elements in theprinthead to eject ink droplets through the nozzles and deposit themonto the print medium. Since the printheads are generally much smallerthan the image to be printed, the image is divided into regions ofappropriate size, called swaths, each of which can be printed in aforward or rearward scan of the carriage. The layout of the printheadnozzles determines the size of the media swath that can be printedduring a scan. The printer also has a print medium advance mechanismwhich moves the media relative to the printheads so that, by combiningthe scans of the print cartridges back and forth across the media withthe advance of the media relative to the printheads, ink can bedeposited on the entire printable area of the media. The controllertypically orchestrates the scanning, media advance, and ink dropejection operations, including such printing aspects as how many scansare required to fully print a section of the media, how much the mediais advaned between scans, and which portions of the image are printedduring which scans. Further information as to the basics of inkjetprinting technology are further disclosed in various articles in severaleditions of the Hewlett-Packard Journal [Vol. 36, No. 5 (May 1985), Vol.39, No. 4 (August 1988), Vol. 39, No. 5 (October 1988), Vol. 43, No. 4(August 1992), Vol. 43, No. 6 (December 1992) and Vol. 45, No.1(February 1994)], incorporated herein by reference.

[0003] A color inkjet printing system typically uses several differentcolor ink supplies, each fluidically connected to one of the printheads,to produce color print output. A typical set of four color inks includescyan, magenta, yellow, and black inks. During printing, drops ofdifferent ones of these inks may be deposited in the same or adjacentpixel locations to form a range of colors as perceived by the human eye.

[0004] The fastest way to print a swath is to scan in one directionwhile ejecting all the ink drops associated with the image to be printedin the swath, advance the media the height of the swath, then scan inthe opposite direction while ejecting ink drops as before. This is knownas single-pass bidirectional printing. It is “single-pass” because theprintheads pass over each area of the media only one time. It is“bidirectional” because drops are fired while the printheads aretraveling in both the forward and rearward scan directions. However,single-pass bidirectional printing often suffers from reduced imagequality that is particularly noticeable when a region of a particularcolor is partially printed in the forward scanning direction andpartially printed in the rearward scanning direction. This image qualitydegradation occurs because the different color printheads are located inthe carriage in a fixed sequence, thus reversing the order in which thedifferent color ink drops will be deposited in a given location on theprint medium in each scanning direction. Since the order in whichdifferent color inks are deposited on the print medium often slightlychanges the hue or shade of the color as perceived by a human observerdue to interactions between the ink and the media, image quality cansuffer. This image quality defect is usually referred to as“bidirectional hue shift”.

[0005] Accordingly, it would be highly desirable to have a new andimproved ink-jet printing system and printing method that reducebidirectional hue shift without compromising throughput and withoutrequiring extra cost or complexity in the printing system. Such a systemand method may solve other problems as well.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0006] In a preferred embodiment, the present invention provides a colorprinting system which includes a color converter which receives colorprint data and generates a set of data channels for the ink colors ofthe system. The set of data channels includes at least oneprint-direction-independent data channel, and at least one pair ofprint-direction-dependent data channels. A print controller receives theset of data channels for printing, and selects theprint-direction-independent data channels, and one of each pair of printdirection-dependent data channels, to provide the data for printing ineach opposite scanning direction of the print engine. In this way,bidirectional hue shift is reduced without compromising throughput andwithout increasing the cost or complexity of the printing system.

[0007] Another embodiment of the present invention is a color map withtable entries, each of which associates a prespecifiedprint-direction-independent input color primitive with at least oneprint-direction-independent output color primitive and at least one pairof print-direction-dependent output color primitives.

[0008] Yet another embodiment of the present invention is a method forprinting with a bidirectional inkjet printer. The method converts afirst set of color pixel data in a direction-independent data formatinto a second set of color pixel data having a direction dependent dataformat which includes at least one direction-independent data segmentand at least one pair of direction-independent data segments. Thedirection-independent data segments, and one of each pair ofdirection-dependent data segments, is selected for printing in eachopposite print direction.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0009] The above-mentioned features of the present invention and themanner of attaining them, and the invention itself, will be bestunderstood by reference to the following detailed description of apreferred embodiment of the invention, taken in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings, wherein:

[0010]FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a print engine usable with thepresent invention;

[0011]FIG. 2 is a schematic representation of a color printing systemaccording to the present invention;

[0012]FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a portion of an exemplary printengine of FIG. 1 illustrating the relative placement of printheads inthe scanning carriage;

[0013]FIG. 4 is a schematic representation of direction-dependent inkdrop deposition as performed by the exemplary print engine of FIG. 3;

[0014]FIG. 5 is a functional block diagram of the color printing systemof FIG. 2;

[0015]FIG. 6 is a schematic representation of exemplary data channelsemployed in an embodiment of the system of FIG. 5;

[0016]FIG. 7 is an exemplary color map usable in the system of FIG. 5;

[0017]FIG. 8 is a flowchart of a bidirectional printing method accordingto the present invention which reduces hue shift in single-passprinting; and

[0018]FIG. 9 is a more detailed flowchart of the conversion portion ofthe printing method of FIG. 8.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

[0019] Referring now to the drawings, there is illustrated a preferredembodiment of a color printing system constructed in accordance with thepresent invention which reduces undesirable bidirectional hue shift. Acolor converter receives color print data and generates a set of datachannels that correspond to the ink colors of the printing system. Thesedata channels include at least one print-direction-independent datachannel for one ink color, and at least one pair ofprint-direction-dependent data channels for another ink color. A printcontroller receives the set of data channels from the color converterand in turn orchestrates the bidirectional scanning and ink ejectingoperations of a print engine. In operation, the controller prints thedata from the print-direction-independent data channels during scanningin both directions, and from a different one of each pair of printdirection-dependent data channels during scanning in each oppositedirection. Since the data in each pair of data channels is optimized tocorrect for bidirectional hue shift, the novel printing systemsignificantly reduces the hue shift that otherwise would occur betweenregions printed in different print directions without requiring a pairof data channels for each ink color.

[0020] Considering now a preferred embodiment of the printing system 10in further detail, and with reference to FIG. 1, the print engine 8includes a frame 11, an input tray 12 a in which a supply of the mediato be printed are stacked prior to printing, and an output tray 12 bwhere the media are placed after printing is complete. Each sheet ofprint medium 18 is fed into the printer and positioned adjacent thecarriage 20 for printing. The print medium 18 has a plurality of pixellocations, such as pixel location 19, organized in a rectangular arrayof rows 3 and columns 5 on the medium 18. Each printhead 21 is installedin the carriage 20 such that the nozzles (indicated generally at 24)through which the droplets of ink (or another fluid) are emitted arefacing in a preferably downward direction so as to eject the ink orfluid onto the surface of the medium 18. Since ink is the preferredfluid, the invention will hereinafter be described with reference toink, though it is understood that the fluid of the present invention isnot limited to ink. Ink can be supplied to the printhead 21 in a numberof different ways, including from a reservoir which is mounted with theprinthead 21, or via a tube 36 from an off-carriage reservoir or vessel,such as one of reservoirs 31 ad. Different printheads 21 (four of whichare illustrated in FIG. 1) typically contain different color inks, suchas magenta, yellow, cyan, and black inks, drops of which can becontrollably combined to form a variety of different colored spots onthe medium 18.

[0021] Before discussing the novel printing system 10 in further detail,it is useful to consider, with reference to FIGS. 3 and 4, the effect onbidirectional hue shift of the positioning of the printheads 21 withinthe carriage 20. The exemplary arrangement illustrated includes, fromleft to right, a black printhead 21 a, a cyan printhead 21 b, a magentaprinthead 21 c, and a yellow printhead 21 d. In the forward scanningdirection 2 a, the carriage 20 moves left to right while in the rearwardscanning direction 2 b, the carriage 20 moves right to left. The nozzles24 of each printhead are preferably arranged such that each prints thesame rows 3 of pixel locations during a scan. For a region of pixellocations 19 a, then, when the carriage 20 is scanned from left to rightin the forward direction 2 a, yellow would be printed first, thenmagenta over yellow, then cyan over magenta, and finally black overcyan. When the carriage 20 is scanned from right to left in the rearwarddirection 2 b for a region of pixel locations 19 b, black is printedfirst, over which cyan, magenta, and yellow are printed respectively. Inorder to print regions 19 b in a uniform dark red color, for example,drops of magenta and yellow ink are printed in the same pixel locations19. As the carriage 20 is scanned from left to right in the forwarddirection 2 a, magenta drops 32 c are printed over yellow drops 32 d. Asthe carriage 20 is scanned from right to left in the rearward direction2 b, yellow drop 32 d are printed over magenta drops 32 c. Depending onthe particular types of chemical and physical interactions between theink drops 32 ed and the print medium 18, the region of red printed inone direction may have a yellowish cast, while the region of red printedin the other direction may have a magentaish cast, thus resulting invisually undesirable bidirectional hue shift.

[0022] Returning now to a preferred embodiment of the printing system 10to consider in further detail the color converter 40, and with referenceto FIGS. 5 and 6, the color converter 40 receives color printdata-typically from a computing apparatus (not shown)—via an inputchannel 41, and generates a set of data channels 46 that correspond tothe ink colors of the printing system 10. These data channels 46 includeat least one print direction-independent data channel 47 for one inkcolor, and at least one pair of print direction-dependent data channels48 for another ink color. A data element in each channel 46 forms a set45 that is associated with each pixel 19 location to be printed. Onepreferred embodiment of the data channels 46 includes a total of sixdata channels: one print-direction-independent data channel 47 a forblack (K) ink, another print-direction-independent data channel 47 b foryellow (Y) ink, one pair of print-direction-dependent data channels 48 afor cyan (C) ink, and another pair of print-direction-dependent datachannels 48 b for magenta (M) ink. One of each pair ofprint-direction-dependent data channels 48 is a forward-direction datachannel 48′ which contains the data used when scanning in the forwarddirection 2 a, while the other of each pair of print-direction-dependentdata channels 48 is a rearward-direction data channel 48″ which containsthe data used when scanning in the rearward direction 2 b.

[0023] The data channel embodiment of the present invention is possiblebecause it has been discovered that, for many types of media 18, not allink colors contribute significantly to hue shift. By providingprint-direction-dependent data channels 48 for only those ink colorswhich significantly contribute to hue shift, it is possible tosignificantly improve print quality in a four-color printing system 10without the added costs of providing the eight data channels needed toimplement print-direction-dependent data channels 48 for all four inkcolors. Additionally, if a conventional printing system 10, which doesnot provide separate forward-direction data channels 48′ andrearward-direction data channels 48″, includes six data channels 48 butonly uses four of them, the present invention can be implemented withoutsignificantly adding cost to the system 10.

[0024] By providing a pair of data channels 48 for those colors whichaffect hue shift, the color converter 40 generates the set of datachannels 46 without having knowledge of the particular scanningdirection 2 that will be used when the data is printed. Thus the presentinvention improves performance of the printing system 10 by allowing thecolor converter 40 to operate independently of, and in parallel with,the print controller 50 in a pipelined manner.

[0025] In some embodiments, the color converter 40 is implemented inhardware, such as an application-specific integrated circuit (notshown), or firmware executed by a microcontroller (not shown), of aprinting device. In other embodiments, the color converter 40 isimplemented in software, such as a printer driver (not shown), of acomputing apparatus (not shown). All of these embodiments are known tothose skilled in the art.

[0026] The color data provided to the color converter 40 via inputchannel 41 is preferably continuously-toned color data in RGB(red-green-blue) format, as known to those skilled in the art. Such RGBdata is direction-independent, there being only a singe channel for eachof the R, G, and B color data. A color mapper 42 utilizes a novel colormap 43 constructed according to the present invention to convert thecontinuously-toned RGB data into direction-dependent continuously-tonedcolor data, exemplarily with intermediate versions 46′ of the KYCMC′M′channels that have been described previously. The intermediate channels46′ which are output from the color mapper 42 are in turn input to ahalftoner 44 which produces the halftoned KYCMC′M′ data channels 46which are sent to the print controller 50. The operation of colormappers using conventional color maps, and the operation of halftoners,are known to those skilled in the art and will not be discussed furtherherein.

[0027] Before discussing the novel printing system 10 in further detail,it is useful to consider, with reference to the exemplary FIG. 7,another embodiment of the present invention, a novel color map 43 usablewith the color converter 40 for converting an input pixel having aprint-direction-independent color into an output pixel having a printdirection-dependent color. The color map 43 has a plurality of tableentries, each entry having a discrete input color value, such as value62, and a corresponding discrete output color value, such as value 63.Each input color value 62 further comprises a prespecified combinationof values of print-direction-independent input color primitives; thepreferred embodiment utilizes red (R), green (G), and blue (B) colorprimitives. Each output color value, such as value 63, further comprisesa prespecified combination of values of at least oneprint-direction-independent output color primitive 64 and at least onepair of print direction-dependent output color primitives 66.

[0028] The preferred embodiment has black 64 a and yellow 64 bprint-direction-independent output color primitives 64;forward-print-direction cyan 66 a′ and rearward-print-direction cyan 66a″; and forward-print-direction magenta 66 b′ andrearward-print-direction magenta 66 b″ print-direction-dependent outputcolor primitives 66. One alternate embodiment of the color map 43includes black, yellow, light cyan, and light magentaprint-direction-independent output color primitives 64;forward-print-direction dark cyan and rearward-print-direction darkcyan; and forward-print-direction dark magenta andrearward-print-direction dark magenta output color primitives 66.Another alternate embodiment of the color map 43 has magenta and cyanprint-direction-independent output color primitives 64;forward-print-direction black and rearward-print-direction black; andforward-print-direction yellow and rearward-print-direction yellowoutput color primitives 66. Which particular primitives are dependenton, or independent of, print direction is determined by the color andproperties of the corresponding inks, and the interactions of these inkswith the intended print media.

[0029] For some color values 63, each of the pairs ofprint-direction-dependent output color primitives 66 may have differentprimitive values. For example, the value of forward-direction cyan 66 a′for “very dark blue” is 160, while the value of rearward direction cyan66 a″ is 170. Similarly, the value of forward-direction magenta 66 b′for “very dark blue” is 200, while the value of rearward-directionmagenta 66 b″ is 185. The differing forward-direction andrearward-directions values are chosen to compensate for the hue shiftthat would otherwise occur, and as a result the amount of bidirectionalhue shift can be reduced with use of such a color map 43.

[0030] Returning now to a preferred embodiment of the printing system 10to consider in further detail the print controller 50, and withreference to FIGS. 2 and 5, the print controller 50 receives the datachannels 46 from the color converter 40, and determines how and when toprint spots of ink on the medium 18 corresponding to the pixel data inthe proper ones of the data channels 46. As is known to those skilled inthe art, the controller 50 orchestrates printing by issuing carriagescan control commands to the scan drive mechanism 15 which moves thecarriage 20 along the slider bar 23 relative to the medium 18 in thescan direction 2, by issuing medium advance control commands to themedium drive mechanism 22 which moves the medium 18 relative to thecarriage 20 in the medium advance direction 4, and by issuing inkejection control commands to the appropriate print cartridge 21 to ejectthe droplets of fluid from the nozzles 24 onto the medium 18.

[0031] With regard to selecting the proper ones of the data channels 46for use in printing, the print controller 50 prints data from theprint-direction-independent data channels 47 during scanning in bothscan directions 2 a,2 b, and from a different one of each pair ofprint-direction-dependent data channels 48 during scanning in eachopposite direction 2 a,2 b. The controller 50 determines which of eachpair of data channels 48 to use during printing in a particular scanningdirection 2 a,2 b so as to cause a particular color of print data tohave the same perceived color shade when printed in the forward scanningdirection 2 a as when printed in the rearward scanning direction 2 b.For the exemplary data channels 46 of FIG. 6, the controller 50 will usethe K 47 a, Y 47 b, C 48 a′, and M 48 b′ data channels when printing inthe forward scan direction 2 a, and the K 47 a, Y 47 b, C′ 48 a″, and M′48 b″ data channels when printing in the rearward scan direction 2 b.

[0032] The controller 50 includes a control command generator 54 whichgenerates the control commands 58 for carriage scanning, medium advance,and ink drop ejection from the printheads 21, and communicates them tothe print engine 8. Since the controller 50 determines the scanningdirection, the controller 50 further includes a directional dataselector 52 which selects the appropriate ones of the data channels 46as just described and transmits the appropriate channels 56 to thecontrol command generator 54.

[0033] Another embodiment of the present invention, as best understoodwith reference to FIG. 8, is a method 100 for printing with abidirectional inkjet printer 10. In general, the method 100 convertsdirection-independent print data to a direction-independent form andselects the appropriate direction-independent data corresponding to thecurrent scanning direction of printing, thus reducing bidirectional hueshift so that a data region representative of a particular color has thesame perceived color shade when printed in either the forward printdirection 2 a or the rearward print direction 2 b.

[0034] The method 100 begins, at 102, by receiving a first set of colorpixel data in a direction-independent data format (e.g. continuous-tonedRGB format) for printing. Preferably the first set of color pixel datacorresponds to the data for a single swath. At 104, the first set ofcolor pixel data is converted into a second set of color pixel datahaving a direction-dependent data format (e.g. halftoned KYCMC′M′format) which includes one or more direction-independent data segments(e.g. K and Y channels) and one or more pairs of direction-dependentdata segments (e.g. C and C′; M and M′ channels). Each data segment ispreferably associated with a different color ink. At 106, the printdirection (e.g. forward 2 a or rearward 2 b along the scan axis 2) isdetermined. At 108, the data segments to be used for printing the secondset of color pixel data in the determined print direction 2 a,2 b areselected. The selected data segments include all of thedirection-independent data segments, and one of each pair ofdirection-independent data segments (e.g. KYCM or KYC′M′ channels). At110, the selected data segments are printed while performing a singlescan in the determined print direction 2 a,2 b. If there are more firstpixel data sets (“Yes” branch of 112), then the method continues at 102;otherwise (“No” branch of 112) the method concludes.

[0035] Considering now in further detail the converting 104 of the firstset of color pixel data into the second set of color pixel data, andwith reference to FIG. 9, the process begins at 114 by converting thefirst set of continuous-toned, direction-independent color pixel datainto an intermediate set of continuous-toned, direction-dependent colorpixel data having a direction-dependent data format. At 116, theintermediate set of color pixel data is halftoned to form the second setof direction-independent halftoned color pixel data in which eachindividual data element represents a discrete color printable by theink-jet printer.

[0036] From the foregoing it will be appreciated that the color printingsystem, color map, and bidirectional printing method provided by thepresent invention represent a significant advance in the art. Althoughseveral specific embodiments of the invention have been described andillustrated, the invention is not limited to the specific methods forms,or arrangements of parts so described and illustrated. In particular,while embodiments of the invention in systems having four and six colorinks and two direction-dependent channels have been illustrated, theinvention is not limited to the illustrated configurations. Other inkand media combinations may have more or fewer direction-dependent datachannels, or different color inks may be the dominant ones for hueshift. The invention is limited only by the claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for printing with a bidirectional inkjet printer, comprising: converting a first set of color pixel data having a direction-independent data format into a second set of color pixel data having a direction-independent data format, the direction-dependent data format including at least one direction-independent data segment and at least one pair of direction-dependent data segments; and selecting the at least one direction-independent data segment and one of each of the at least one pair of direction-dependent data segments for printing the second set of color pixel data in a corresponding print direction.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the selecting further includes: selecting the at least one direction-independent data segment and one of each of the at least one pair of direction-dependent data segments for printing the second set of color pixel data in a forward direction; and selecting the at least one direction-independent data segment and the other one of each of the at least one pair of direction-dependent data segments for printing the second set of color pixel data in a rearward direction.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein the converting and selecting operate such that a data region in the first set representative of a particular color has the same perceived color when printed in a forward print direction and a rearward print direction.
 4. The method of claim 1, comprising: receiving a plurality of first sets of color pixel data; determining for each first set of color pixel data the corresponding print direction for the corresponding second set of color pixel data; and printing the selected data segments for each second set of color pixel data.
 5. The method of claim 4, wherein the printing of all data segments of an individual second set of color pixel data is performed in a single scan.
 6. The method of claim 1, wherein the first set of color pixel data is in RGB format.
 7. The method of claim 6, wherein the second set of color pixel data is in KYCMC′M′ format.
 8. The method of claim 6, wherein the second set of color pixel data is in KYcmCMC′M′ format.
 9. The method of claim 7, wherein the at least one direction-independent data segment is a K data segment and a Y data segment, and wherein the at least one pair of direction-dependent data segments are a C and C′ pair of data segments and an M and M′ pair of data segments.
 10. The method of claim 7, wherein the at least one direction-independent data segment is a C data segment and an M data segment, and wherein that least one pair of direction-dependent data segments are a K and K′ pair of data segments and a Y and Y′ pair of data segments.
 11. The method of claim 1, wherein the first set of color pixel data is continuous toned data and the second set of color pixel data is halftoned data wherein each individual data element represents a discrete color printable by the inkjet printer.
 12. The method of claim 11, wherein the converting further comprises: color-converting the first set of color pixel data into a intermediate set of continuous-toned direction-dependent color pixel data; and halftoning the intermediate set to form the second set of color pixel data in which each individual data element represents a discrete color printable by the inkjet printer
 13. The method of claim 1, wherein each direction-independent data segment and each pair of direction-dependent data segments is associated with a different color ink.
 14. The method of claim 1, wherein each individual one of the pair of direction dependent data segments is associated with a same color ink.
 15. A color map for converting an input pixel having a print-direction-independent color into an output pixel having a print-direction-dependent color, comprising: a plurality of table entries, each entry having a discrete input color value and a corresponding discrete output color value; wherein each input color value further comprises a prespecified combination of primitive values for print-direction-independent input color primitives, and wherein each output color value further comprises a prespecified combination of primitive values for at least one print-direction-independent output color primitive and at least one pair of print-direction-dependent output color primitives.
 16. The color map of claim 15, wherein: each print-direction-independent output color primitive is associated with a different one of a set of first colors, each pair of print-direction-dependent output color primitives is associated with a different one of a set of second colors, and both individual ones of each pair of print-direction-dependent output color primitives are associated with a same one of the set of second colors.
 17. The color map of claim 15, wherein: the print-direction-independent input color primitives are red, green, and blue; the at least one print-direction-independent output color primitive are black and yellow; and the at least one pair of print-direction-dependent output color primitives are forward-print-direction cyan and rearward-print-direction cyan, and forward-print-direction magenta and rearward-print-direction magenta.
 18. The color map of claim 15, wherein: the print-direction-independent input color primitives are red, green, and blue; the at least one print-direction-independent output color primitive are black, yellow, light cyan, and light magenta; and the at least one pair of print-direction-dependent output color primitives are forward-print-direction dark cyan and rearward-print-direction dark cyan, and forward-print-direction dark magenta and rearward-print-direction dark magenta.
 19. The color map of claim 15, wherein: the print-direction-independent input color primitives are red, green, and blue; the at least one print-direction-independent output color primitive are magenta and cyan; and the at least one pair of print-direction-dependent output color primitives are forward-print-direction black and rearward-print-direction black, and forward-print-direction yellow and rearward-print-direction yellow.
 20. The color map of claim 15, wherein each of the at least one pair of print direction-dependent output color primitive values are different for at least some of the table entries.
 21. A color printing system, comprising: a print engine for controllably ejecting drops of colored inks during bidirectional scanning; a color converter adapted to receive color print data and generate a set of data channels relating to the colored inks, the data channels including at least one print direction-independent data channel and at least one pair of print-direction-dependent data channels; and a print controller communicatively coupled to the color converter for receiving the data channels and to the print engine for controlling the scanning direction and the ejecting, the controller configured to print data from the at least one print-direction-independent data channel during scanning in both directions and from a different one of the at least one pair of print-direction-dependent data channels during scanning in each opposite direction.
 22. The color printing system of claim 21, wherein the color print data is continuously-toned and the set of data channels is halftoned, and wherein the color converter further comprises: a color mapper adapted to receive the color print data and generate a continuously-toned set of intermediate data channels according to a color map; and a halftoner communicatively coupled to the color mapper for converting the continuously-toned set of intermediate data channels to the halftoned set of data channel
 23. A color printing system, comprising: a print engine for controllably ejecting drops of colored inks during bidirectional scanning; a color converter adapted to receive color print data and generate a set of data channels relating to the ink colors of the system, the data channels including a single data channel for some ink colors and a pair of data channels for other ink colors; and a print controller communicatively coupled to the color converter for receiving the data channels and to the print engine for controlling the scanning direction and the ejecting, the controller configured to determine which of the pair of data channels to use during printing in a particular scanning direction so as to cause a particular color of print data to have the some perceived color when printed in either scanning direction.
 24. The color printing system of claim 23, wherein the color converter generates the set of data channels without knowledge of the particular scanning direction. 